THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, October 11, 2019 Page 13 ASKS | FROM PAGE 12 Former School Committee Member John S. Hatch be locked in a file folder or restricted to school committee. Their opinions should be as public as possible, and as the superintendent answers to the school committee, these stakeholders should be encouraged to provide anonymous and public surveys of his performance. By the time you’re reading this we may have already seen a polished PowerPoint presentation explaining things are getting better. I hope they are. We’ve made some investments improving standards and they are commendable, but I’d prefer to hear from stakeholders on the front lines about the issues we’re missing. Former School Committee Member Arthur Grabowski Let us start off with some really positive news...congratulations are in order for Principal Michael Mondello and all the staff at the Lynnhurst Elementary School. Their school is one of 67 on the “School of Recognition” list for remarkable results in the state’s 2019 MCAS tests....of course it could not have happened without the students being in class every day and absorbing everything the staff was teaching them. Congratulations to the Lynnhurst Lions, what a great achievement. Overall students at the elementary level were comparable or better than the state average in meeting or exceeding expectations. In prior years schools and their districts were classified according to levels. Saugus was a perennial Level 3 school district...one step above Level 4 which required the state to step in and take over the schools. We were classified in the lower 25 percent of all school districts in the state. With the new rating system, each school is rated from 1 to 99. Lynnhurst is rated 83…up from 73 last year. Veterans Memorial is rated 50 down from 53 last year. Waybright is rated 49...down from 51 last year. Oaklandvale is rated 39... down from 46 last year. Belmonte Middle School is rated 13...up from 9 last year. Saugus High School is rated 16 down from 23 last year... Former School Committee Member Arthur Grabowski Belmonte Middle School and Saugus High School ratings place them in the bottom 10% of similar schools in the State of Massachusetts. These numbers are quite problematic. It is obvious why parents, faced with moving children from elementary to the secondary level in Saugus are sending their children to private schools, charter schools even the Voke. This “brain drain” only dilutes the test scores in that students who usually score higher in MCAS tests are taken out of the equation. What strategies do I see to reverse this downward trend... First....institution of free universal all-day kindergarten... while this will come at a cost ...experts in the field of education have for years extolled the fact that this first exposure to educational opportunities...is the best predictor for future achievement throughout a student’s learning experiences. Is it fair that given the economic climate in Saugus today we limit opportunities to those that have the ability to pay...Since our free and reduced lunch participation is rising every year...not every family has the ability to afford the tuition... Second...Several years ago I voted against lowering the academic requirements for graduation from Saugus High. In my opinion, that was a mistake...we have to increase the rigor of instruction in the middle and high school. As the old saying goes, a rising tide lifts all ships....if we expect less we will get less... better to strive for a higher goal then accept mediocrity as the best we can expect. It is good that foreign languages have been reinstituted in the middle and high school...I voted against reducing the requirement to an elective rather than a requirement. Good first step. Third, and this is happening now, I understand … require attendance....you can’t learn if you are not in class...institute strict attendance policies and lower the amount of acceptable absences. Fourth...when teachers are absent and substitutes are called in, to make sure that are competent and teaching subject matter in the class they are filling in for. STOP warehousing students in the cafeteria Candidate Ryan P. Fisher or home rooms....every minute not spent with a competent teacher in the classroom... is a lost opportunity for the student to learn. Fifth...utilize best practices. What is being done at the elementary level that we seem to be losing at the middle and high school level. Collaborate with other high performing school districts and find out what we are missing out on. They found success, maybe we can learn from them. Finally I would establish a “Blue Ribbon” fact finding group to investigate where we are dropping the ball and what steps we can take to improve student achievement in Saugus. We need a turnaround plan that will produce immediate proven results....we have lost too much time already and our students futures depend on our commitment and resolve. These are but a few of the ideas I have that I think will increase the educational opportunities we can provide to all Saugus students. I will be providing more background in future position papers... “After all it’s our children’s future...” Former School Committee Member John S. Hatch First, I would like to thank The Advocate for this important forum to the citizens of Saugus. My reaction to the latest MCAS Test scores, among other issues I see with the district, in addition to much encouragement was to pull papers, and get my name on the ballot. I don’t think there is a quick easy answer to the problem. I feel this is one symptom to a larger issue. For reasons right, wrong, or indifferent to our town, and the school system seems to be divided. As a Human Resource / Business development professional the glaring issue I see is a School Committee Member Linda N. Gaieski culture problem. In the private sector a business with a positive culture, tends to thrive and prosper. The employees are invested, and feel they have a voice; they are encouraged to perform at a higher standard, and are held accountable to that standard and know the expectations that are expected of them. The company as a whole has a theme of respect, and collaboration, a sense of transparency with most every issue. This is not a model for just the frontline employee, but for the senior leaders down. I think our School District needs time to heal from some very difficult times. This does not mean we should bury our heads in the sand when it comes to difficult issues. The School District has comprehensive policies and procedures that should be used to help us through these times. I feel if we change our culture, with some of the characteristics I mentioned above, problems like test scores will naturally improve. To answer the question directly, I am not a professional educator. We have wonderful dedicated professionals who probably have the answers working within the academic frameworks the department of education has set forth. I am not a fan of teaching to a test, but I know some students will need extra help, and I understand other communities have MCAS test prep classes for underperforming students. In closing I feel that every student, facility member, as well as the superintendent and school committee should feel a sense of pride and be proud of the school districts accomplishments. School Committee Chair Jeannie Meredith My first reaction to this year’s MCAS results were that I was very proud of our Lynnhurst Candidate Joseph “Dennis” Gould Elementary School being one of 67 schools recognized for achieving high growth. Congratulations to Principal Mondello and his staff for working so hard and accomplishing these improvements! Although we see a slight improvement with the Middle School, we need to continue our efforts with the state and our Turn Around Plan. I was very disappointed to see the High School move into targeted assistance. This was their first year taking the MCAS Next Generation test vs the MCAS Legacy; I am not sure if this played a part in the decrease of scores. I personally would like to see MCAS help classes put back in the daily schedule instead of only being offered as an optional after-school help session, as they once were. I also understand the challenges with making that happen as we only have so many minutes to teach in a day. Although the MCAS scores have been a systemic problem over the last 15 years, I do see hope for our district. The current Administration Team along with Central Office Administrators and teaching staff have been working very diligently on changing the way our District delivers education. Saugus may have fallen behind in some areas compared to other districts in the state. The new building projects and grade configuration will begin to align curriculum and instructional practices. And this will create a consistency that Saugus Public Schools has been lacking. This reconfiguration will allow for better transition points and help teachers assess where students are academically/socially and emotionally and provide students with the targeted assistance needed to succeed academically.
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